BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Nov. 10, 2016) - On Thursday night, the LIU Post volleyball team closed out the 2016 regular season with a 3-1 victory (25-21, 25-16, 21-25, 25-21) against East Coast Conference nemesis Molloy College at the Pratt Recreation Center.

The win secures the No. 4 seed for the Pioneers (15-12, 8-6 ECC) in next week's East Coast Conference Championship.

The green and gold never trailed in the opening two sets, en route to taking a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the first game, LIU Post led by a slight 14-13 margin, until an 8-2 run by the hosts widened the gap to 22-15. Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Londot (Utica, Ohio) put down two kills in the spurt.

The Pioneers never looked back from there, as junior outside/right-side hitter Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.) registered the set-clinching kill in a 25-21 victory.

Up 8-7 in the second set, LIU Post reeled off an 8-3 burst to expand its advantage to 16-10, forcing a Molloy (8-15, 5-8 ECC) timeout.

The Pioneers, who eventually went on to a 25-16 win, capitalized on five Lions' errors in the streak.

Molloy fought back and took the third set, before LIU Post rallied to win the fourth to earn their 13th-consecutive ECC Tournament berth.

Trailing 12-7, the Pioneers used a 10-1 run to grab a 17-13 lead. Senior middle hitter Taryn McCullouch (Buena Park, Calif.) paced the green and gold in the effort with three kills.

Though Molloy subsequently dug deep to cut the deficit to 21-20, a pair of Valenza kills helped propel LIU Post to a 25-21 victory.

McCullouch, Valenza and Londot all finished with 13 kills apiece. Freshman setter Kassie Akouri-Tejedor (North Miami Beach, Fla.) dished out 47 assists, while collecting eight digs and seven kills. Senior outside/right-side/middle hitter Analise Austin (Honolulu, Hawaii) added six kills and two digs. Freshman libero/defensive specialist Abby Eckhardt (Westminster, Colo.) totaled a match-high 19 digs.

Head Coach Amanda Ostapow and the Pioneers return to action next Friday (Nov. 18), when they square off with top-seeded Daemen College in the semifinals of the 2016 East Coast Conference Championship in Amherst.